The Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria: Implications and Consequences

Abstract

Chemical weapons are banned under customary international law, the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The CWC today has achieved near universal adherence; a small number of states, however, remain outside its realm. Syria-until 2013 one of them-was long presumed to possess chemical weapons and in 2012 effectively admitted so. The Syrian civil war always carried the risk that one side or another would use these weapons. Reports to this end began to appear in 2012. In March 2013, following separate requests by Syria and several Western States, the UN Secretary-General began to investigate these allegations. Whilst the investigation team was in Damascus, a large-scale sarin attack was launched on Ghouta, killing hundreds of people. This incident and its subsequent confirmation by the UN team set in motion a series of unprecedented events leading to the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile under strict international control, supported by financial and in-kind assistance by more than 20 countries. But this multilateral effort did not end the use of toxic chemicals in Syria, and OPCW fact-finding missions have since confirmed several cases of chlorine attacks. Also, ISIS/Daesh reportedly has used chemical weapons including chlorine and mustard gas in Syria and Iraq. The paper concludes that it will be important to identify the perpetrators of these attacks and bring them to justice in order to protect the international norm against poison gas.

Zjawisko autokracji informacyjnej: treść i cechy

“…They came to the conclusion that, most likely, the terrorists themselves killed the Syrian citizens in order to pass them off as victims of the chemical attacks allegedly carried out by B. Assad. In addition, according to official UN data, since 2013 B. Assad has not had chemical warfare agents and infrastructure for this production (Trapp, 2017). At the same time, the improvised chemical laboratories of the Islamic State were found by both the Americans in Iraq and Russian troops in Syria.…”

Syria Conflict and its Impact

“…Leaks and the accidental release of the materials and agents into the natural environment are inevitable, and harmful to the environment. 85 In an attempt to assist efforts to eliminate Syria's chemical weapon stockpile, the United States of America developed the Field Deployable Hydrolysis System (fdhs). The fdhs was installed on a ship, with the purpose of neutralising approximately 700 metric tons of mustard gas and Sarin.86 This process will undoubtedly have implications for ocean plant and animal life.…”

Global Health Security and Weapons of Mass Destruction Chapter

“…Similarly, whether the agent is released in a closed space or in the open air will impact the persistence of chemical agents. It is important to note that chemical weapons are banned under customary international law, the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) [26].…”

“…Again, in 2017, he released another chemical attack in Douma, outside of Damascus, Syria that captured world attention after the bodies of children were broadcast worldwide. In this attack, 1700 innocent civilians were killed, including women and children [26]. This attack prompted United States President Donald Trump to launch punitive strikes on Syrian targets that were associated with the Syrian regime's chemical-weapons programs [31].…”